


The Pieces of You

by JanitorBot



Category: Rockman Zero | Mega Man Zero, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And the Guardians are being the Guardians, Because Zero is Zero, Being Ciel is suffering, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Family Drama, Genderbending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25125118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanitorBot/pseuds/JanitorBot
Summary: This isn’t fair. Her heroes don’t deserve this.
Relationships: X/Zero (Rockman)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 89





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Noeggets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noeggets/gifts).



> A commissioned fic for Noeggets who wants the following:  
> A Fem!X, screwing over death thanks to the power of GENIUS! And old friends/lovers remembering what they use to be (or not, oh dear).

Zero seems sad.

The air around him is more despondent. Lonelier somehow, despite how he’s constantly surrounded by people.

Or, at least that’s what Ciel assumes because it’s hard to get a good read on the stoic combat robot like him. It’s been nearly two years since she found him and Ciel likes to think that’s a long enough time to know someone. To have a feel if someone is being quiet because they’re at peace, simply needing no words, or quiet like an abyss, consuming sound and light and giving nothing back. A cold, stone wall. 

“How are you?” Ciel would ask numerously.

“Sufficient,” replies Zero every time, not truly answering Ciel’s question the way she wants it to be answered, at all. Then he’d ask if the Dark Elf’s energy readings showed up again, what his next mission is if there's any and that’d be the end of it.

If Zero is being a stone wall, Ciel can’t blame him considering what happened to X. The thing is she’s not sure.

There are too many things that demand her attention. What happened with Elpizo did a major blow on Resistance’s resources and morale, which they’re still recovering from, and Ciel struggles to keep her founded family afloat. The Dark Elf is still out there, vexingly keeping a low profile, and they’re at a race against Neo Arcadia to find the powerful Cyber-elf first. The empire is hurt from Elpizo’s stunt as well, but it won’t be long for it to recover. 

Honestly, Ciel needs to focus on developing the CIEL System when it’s the literal cure-all to their problems. Yet, she can’t help but keep an ear out for what Zero’s doing, wrought with worry to not to.

So far it appears that the Crimson Hero is always engaging with someone whenever Ciel sees him around Base. In fact, he’s going out his way to talk to the other Resistance members more than ever. Not exactly being outright sociable, simply taking on any minor task that's thrown at his general direction.

It's uncharacteristic of Zero - and so soon after what went down with Elpizo, the Dark Elf, and X? Ciel wants to make sure.

“Zero? He looks fine to me,” says Cerveau one day when Ciel inquires for his opinion, lips pulling at the edges in a bemused frown. “He’s been helping me a lot actually. He’s been hunting Bombnet stings for these trap mines I’m experimenting lately…”

“When I first met him, he couldn’t remember his own name,” Ciel murmurs, recalling when she first told the amnesiac warbot about his old best friend. “But he remembered X. She _mattered_ to him. It’s not that I don’t want him to be okay. I really, _really_ want him to be, Cerveau. It’s just…X died. She was his one, living link to his past. You can’t just get over something like that.”

“Don’t forget, X was a monster. Zero woke up and she tried to kill him. Repeatedly,” Cerveau replies somberly and Ciel stiffens, internally cursing herself for forgetting that no one else knows the truth about Copy X. The crashing shame strangles her, numbs her tongue useless in her mouth like a log. Weak to confess even when Copy X is dead and gone, an incident of last year but ultimately, a demon in the past.

As far as everyone else in concerned, X died to Zero’s hand last year and the only tragedy that occurred in the Dark Elf’s Vault was Elpizo’s descent to madness. Nothing about Cyber-elf X.

_“It’s best to keep the truth buried,”_ X told the young scientist once, Neo Arcadia’s former empress’ voice crackling between flashes of struggle. Barely maintaining the minimum of power to speak. _“The Resistance needs to trust you. After Elpizo, you can’t risk losing that.”_

The teen’s hands ball into fists by her sides. She gets what X meant. It doesn’t ameliorate her suffocating guilt.

Cerveau bends his head roughly side to side, the tiny sounds of metal rubbing against metal making Ciel's spine crawl. Unaware, he continues soldering a wire to a circuit board on his workspace. “Last time I checked, Zero doesn’t remember how he met X. He only remembers a couple battles that he had with her as Maverick Hunters. If that’s what he’s working off on, I doubt he’s missing that psychopath. You might be looking into this too much.”

Ciel doesn’t bring the topic again to the engineer after that.

Later in the week, she sees Hirondelle draping himself over an ancient tome, the binding half gone and the cover with spots of water damage, but overall impressively preserved.

“It’s a poetry book,” the slender reploid breathes excitedly, uncharacteristically humbled as he turns the pages with aching care. “I was joking when I told Zero to find one, but scrap me, he really did it. That madman! It was worth every crystal.”

“Crystal?” Ciel echoes.

“Yup. Three thousand crystals.” Hirondelle grins at Ciel’s taken aback look. “Not bad for a genuine book, right? I still can't believe it myself. A book, not a datapad! Surviving all those years of war and destruction...” Conspiratorially, the informant leans in, adding,” If there's something hard-to-get you want, word is that Zero’s open to do any side job if the reward’s crystals. As low as a hundred of them. He’s keen on collecting them for some reason. I think Alouette rubbed off on him…”

While Ciel doubts that Zero is suddenly invested in a paternal hobby of feeding and raising Cyber-elves - well. If Zero wants crystals, she has some to spare and she’s happy to give him some. They’re a valuable commodity during the energy crisis, but if it weren’t for him the Resistance wouldn’t be standing.

It’s the least she can do for all he's done for her.

She takes some time to budget. She calculates how many tests she’s going to run until the next energen gathering, sequesters a portion for the CIEL System, and nods to herself, happy to see there’s enough to spare to give to Zero. She calls Zero down to her office and pushes a modest bag of crystals into his hands when he arrives.

“I heard you’ve been collecting them,” she says as Zero blinks blankly down at them. “You could have asked. If there’s anything I can do to help, you can count on me. You know that, right?”

Zero stares at the crystals, frustratingly unresponsive, before he shuts his eyes and turns away, handing them back to her. “I don’t need them anymore.”

Privately disappointed that her gesture wasn’t helpful, Ciel says,” Oh, um. Okay. Out of curiosity, is it okay to ask what you were using them for?”

Instead of answering, Zero reaches into his inventory and hauls out a jaw-droppingly huge bag of e-crystals. He plops them on top of the ones in Ciel’s hands and she squeaks, her thin arms nearly dropping them.

The warbot glares up to the ceiling. “I’m giving them to her. Are you happy now?” he snaps to the air.

“Z-Zero?” Ciel struggles under the weight.

The warrior keeps looking up like some cosmic entity will suddenly deign him answers. Finally, he huffs out a frustrated sound. Whatever he was hoping to happen didn’t come.

Putting down the crystals on her desk, Ciel asks gently, “Zero, what’s going on?”

“…She won’t come out,” he says hollowly a moment later.

“…X?” Ciel asks tentatively.

“I've been collecting e-crystals to keep her from fading. All it’ll take is a couple more uses of her power and she’ll be gone.” Zero grabs the side of his helmet while Ciel’s insides turn cold with sympathy. “Worse, she’s not letting me help her. She says I'd be wasting the crystal on her and that I'm delaying the inevitable. She doesn’t understand. She just needs to hang on until your research is finished - that idiot!”

Turning on his heels, Zero marches out of the door, would probably slam it if he was petty or if the metal sliding thing was capable of being slammed, leaving Ciel alone in the disquieting silence.

Minutes later, a soft blue light materializes next to human. Ciel turns to see a familiar floating figure in a glowing tunic and sprawling veil, humble in dress yet ethereal in presence. X gazes forlornly at the door where Zero left.

X statics in and out of reality as she sighs. “Don’t mind him…he needs to accept that I’m gone.”

“You're not though. You're right here,” says Ciel meekly. How does one carry themself around a legend like the Mother of All Reploids? 

“But I will be."

X stretches her arms out by her sides. “I’m a ghost at best…time isn’t an enemy anyone can fight. Not even Zero.”

The Cyber Elf smiles at the blonde girl. It doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Maintaining a form takes too much energy…I’ll use what I have left to find leads on the Dark Elf's location…when I disappear, please be there for Zero…he’ll need you…”

The Azure Angel vanishes. Ciel lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, heart clenching as she does.

This isn’t fair. Her heroes don’t deserve this.

She’s the one who pulled the trigger to this conflict. She made Copy X and indirectly caused the oppression of reploids in Neo Arcadia. She drove innocent reploids like Elpizo to seek power to fight back no matter the cost, and X was the undeserving casualty. Both X and Zero suffered at Ciel’s sin.

She can’t let it end like this.

* * *

Ciel wasn’t a child prodigy for nothing.

It takes three days to come up a plan with real sustenance. She summons Zero into her lab, hands wringing nervously in front of her when he arrives.

“I need to show you something,” she starts. The reploid scientist nudges the mouse on her desk, her personal terminal blinking out from a screensaver. On the multiple screens on the walls, various wire frame models of X’s body appear across the black glasses.

Zero’s eyes narrow, not sure what he’s seeing. “Ciel, what is all this?”

“It’s a chance.” Ciel exhales harshly. “To keep X from fading away.”

The red warbot whirls to her, optics wider than Ciel has ever seen them.

“Explain,” he demands.

She does.

“As a Cyber-elf, X was both similar and different from the Dark Elf. Typically, Cyber-elves don’t have a physical form, which is why they can operate in both the physical plane and Cyberspace. X and the Dark Elf _do_ have a physical form, but they use it differently. The Dark Elf basically possesses her frame and she carries it around, allowing her mobility like a puppet. The energy conduit design lets her channel Cyberspace. On the other hand, X was originally an android and so at best, her body was more of a storage than a vehicle. The hardware to her software so to speak. X didn’t pull in power from Cyberspace. Instead, she utilized the power feeding into her body back in the Vault. As long as X could return to her hardware, she could recharge and go back out again.

“But now there’s no hardware. Her body is destroyed so there’s nothing for to her to go back to. However, if I can design her a frame that has the same abilities like the Dark Elf’s…”

“X would have a body to be tied to,” Zero follows, “and she’ll have access to Cyberspace so she won’t disappear if she uses her power.”

“That’s the theory. The problem is the frame itself. I need more research to get the construction right.”

Zero clicks his tongue. “Hunting down the Dark Elf is more imperative than ever.”

“Actually, the Dark Elf wouldn’t be helpful. Her frame is specifically tailored for her. X needs something else.”

“Then what do we need?”

Ciel winces. “It’s…it’s not great.”

“Ciel,” Zero presses.

“…Our best bet is the Guardians.” The young scientist grimaces. “Even then, it won’t be a guarantee.”

She brings up another window on her computer, displaying Neo Arcadia’s leaders.

“The Guardians house a portion and a power of X. Compare to any other reploid, they’re the closest in construction to her. Theoretically, if I can create a frame that’s compatible with all of them, maybe one that includes parts of them, then it should work with X.”

“Phantom’s terminated,” Zero points out, frowning.

“Which means we’re working off a seventy-five percent chance of success. Not bad, but still raises the risk of failure to twenty-five. Also, these are the Guardians we’re talking about. I highly doubt they’re open to…” Ciel juggles her hands uncertainly in the air,” being opened up for me to study them.”

“If we’re gunning for the Guardians, we’d be toppling Neo Arcadia’s heads of government.”

“Yes. The stakes are high.”

“I’ll take it. I’ll go get them,” says Zero with a determined glint in his eyes.

“W-Wait!” Ciel cries before Zero does anything reckless. “I wasn’t joking when I said the stakes are _high._ There’s more to this and you need to understand what happens if this doesn’t work.”

Zero waits, quietly prompting her to continue. Ciel takes a deep breath.

“X was powerful. She needs a construction that’s formidable enough to handle her. If this goes wrong, we’re _lucky_ if X rejects the body and it short-circuits. We’ve wasted resources and effort and probably be on Neo Arcadia’s bad side, but that’s nothing new. Essentially, we’d return to the status quo.

“The worst-case scenario is that X’s data will be corrupted.” Ciel shudders, her imagination running wild, anxiety compounding it to be nightmares. “She could be _worse_ than Copy X. Copy X gained upgrades as she lived so she steadily adapted to her growing power. We’ll be giving a corrupted X a powerful body right from the start and she’ll be tied to it, trapped. Right in our Base. I have no idea what could happen. She…she may not even be X anymore…”

“But there won’t _be_ an X if she fades anyway,” says Zero without an ounce of hesitation. “We have to try.”

“You’ll still go through with it?” Ciel is about to ask when she shakes her head. No, there’s one more thing.

“We need to tell X first. This is about her after all,” the teen remarks. “There wouldn’t be a point if she doesn't agree to the plan. We'd be risking so much to make a body that she refuses to go into. Maybe she can help." With what, Ciel isn't sure. Perhaps persuading the Guardians to volunteer themselves up to be study subjects? She has no idea.

“She won’t,” Zero growls. “If she believed in us, she would have taken my crystals and hold out a little longer. If she’s with us now, she’d have popped out already.”

Zero shoots another glare at the sky as if X would be there to receive it.

“She’ll come out eventually. By then, there’ll be a body for her to come to. I don’t care if she doesn’t think it’ll work – she will try. _She owes me.”_

Zero speaks with a ferocity Ciel rarely witnesses. Tamping down the urge to step back, Ciel swallows. “Um, right. We’re doing this then.” She’s not sure what Zero means by X owing him, but Ciel knows that she owes the Crimson Hero for everything – for saving her and everyone. For being their hope.

The Resistance Commander refocuses. “Okay. I’ll draft up a request and send it to Neo Arcadia.”

“You’re going to directly ask the Guardians to be your study subjects?” Zero asks, voice tinged with incredulity.

“I don’t want to fight with them,” Ciel mourns. “I’m proposing to trade with them: I’ll give them the CIEL System if the Guardians let me study them. Neo Arcadia will have to think about it. The energy crisis doesn’t spare anyone.”

“The CIEL System isn’t finished though.”

“I’m at the final stages. I was planning to hand it over to Neo Arcadia anyway – before I couldn’t think of anything I’d want from them except to leave the reploids alone…now, I can use it as a bargaining chip. I don’t want us to fight if it’s possible.”

_Too naïve, it won’t work,_ Combat Mode replies swiftly.

They can’t trust the Guardians to hold up their side of the trade, let alone expect the Guardians to trust them back either. The Resistance has raided Neo Arcadia’s supply trains, infiltrated the empire numerous times, and slayed their leader, false that she was. The Neo Arcadians don't know the truth.

And if they do accept Ciel’s proposition – then what? Would they invite the Guardians into their Base, not only exposing their location, but also letting three incredibly dangerous combat reploids come close to the Resistance’s very human leader? Letting Ciel go back to Neo Arcadia is out of the question as well. They may never let her leave.

It’s all too risky. Betrayal can happen at any moment at the Resistance’s most vulnerable.

Zero doesn’t share any of this aloud. Against Combat Mode’s protests, the warbot contributes,” We'll make an attempt. Tell the Guardians to meet me at the Forest of Dysis tomorrow as neutral ground.”

Ciel smiles, clearly hoping for the best while Zero rewinds and reviews his memories of the Guardians’ post-battle bliss from his previous encounters.

_“Whoops! Seem I’ve gotten caught up in the fun of the moment…I can’t help it. I don’t know why, but your strength drives me crazy…Fefnir must have infected me…”_

_“Is it weird to thank someone who pummeled your screws out? Hah, slag it, I don’t care - thanks, Zero! For being the only godforsaken bot ‘round here who can fight worth a damn. No one can challenge me like you do…next time, let’s turn the heat up a notch!”_

_“You are still so strong. I like it…no, I love it. You’re the only one who can make feel this alive…this sensation, this pain…”_

Zero doubts that peace will be an option. The Guardians always want to fight.

Which is perfectly fine with the former Maverick Hunter because he wants one too. Letting Ciel send them a message will have them conveniently rounded up in one spot.

There's no time to waste.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MMZ has a lot of plotholes/idiot ball moments (like Harpuia somehow knowing that X was in the vault?), which I hope to resolve while writing this fic. I can't leave them alone. I can't.

Zero doesn’t dawdle.

As soon as Ciel receives a reply from Neo Arcadia that yes, the Guardians will meet with Zero, the Crimson Warrior stalks to Command Center and strides up to Jaune and Rouge.

“Wait! We haven’t discussed _when_ we should meet,” Ciel cries when she catches him. “I only received a confirmation that they were willing.”

“X can’t afford any more time wasted,” says Zero. “They’ll come. I’ll make them.”

Ciel’s face drops. “What do you mean you’ll – no. Just no. Whatever you’re planning, please don’t do it.”

“Just let them know that I’ll be at the forest today and it’s in their best interest to be quick. I’ll fire off flares until they arrive.” Because giving away coordinates gives Neo Arcadia a chance to set traps beforehand.

“…Please don’t do anything reckless.”

“I’ll think about it,” he says in a bland tone that guarantees nothing.

Ciel makes a weak noise as Zero steps into the transerver to be teleported to the safest and closest area at the edge of the Forest of Dysis. The young blonde takes a couple deep breaths, forcing herself to abate her pounding anxiety.

Zero’s fought against overwhelming odds and has always returned. If negotiations fall, Zero will survive. She believes in him.

It’ll be okay. Maybe. Hopefully.

West of Neo Arcadia’s Eden Dome, Zero stands in the middle of a forest clearing. He walks into the technorganic trees and swipes a small mechaniloid, bringing it back to the clearing to toss it up into the air and shoot it at the tank, inciting a minor blast and a trail of inky smoke.

The smoke fades away quickly. He needs something bigger.

After slashing down a couple trees and plopping down a larger mech’s corpse on top of it, Zero sets off the half-hearted funeral pyre, watching the metal plating scorch and curl black.

That’s when he hears the distant beating of a transport chopper’s wings.

The vehicle is a desert sand dot in the distance, hardly perceivable against the pale sky, but it grows bigger and bigger as it approaches. The bug like windshields and antennas are reflect the noon sun.

Zero knows who it belongs to.

Though quite some distance away from Zero’s location, a red speck springs out from the chopper while it’s in the air, landing down somewhere among the trees like a comet. A cloud dust shoots up and the earth trembles from force. Crackling footsteps echo and it’s not long when the leader of the Scorched Earth Squadron jumps out of the forested shadows and into the clearing, meters away from Zero with a flashy fist to the ground.

Fefnir rises, her dipped helmet giving away to a brilliant white grin. All fangs and cheerful glares.

“Yo Zero,” Fefnir greets with a cocky lilt. She punches one hand into an open palm and bends her neck side to side showily. “Alright, we got six minutes before the chopper catches up.” She aims Sodom and Gomorrah at Zero’s head, halfway whirring it up into a fully charged blast. “Let’s go, Zero!” 

Zero stares. “What are you on about. I’m not here to fight.” Not yet at least.

“So? That doesn’t mean I don’t want to. Now hurry up and take out your saber!”

“No.”

Fritz, what part of X was Fefnir _from?_

Before Fefnir can protest, Zero’s gaze flits to the sky behind her, threat assessment alerting him of another dangerous entity coming at high speed. A green blur is splitting across the clouds.

Without following Zero’s line of sight, Fefnir drops her shoulders, rolling her eyes like a child whose toys were taken away.

“Tch, I thought she would stay in the chopper,” Fefnir mutters right as Harpuia slows to a split hover above the clearing. The aerial reploid lands daintily right by her crimson brethren, her wings retracting and folding neatly on her back.

Harpuia’s features paint a disapproving scowl aimed at her fellow Guardian. “Did you think you can go on ahead with negotiations by yourself? You’re the last person I would trust diplomacy to.”

“I thought,” Fefnir starts with a smiling snarl, “that I can get in my one-v-one with Zero before you and Levi can get here. It can still happen if you back off.”

Harpuia’s eyes narrow in a silent way that says, “And ruin everything without my supervision? Not happening.”

Fefnir’s head lolls away with a breathy laugh. “Thought so.”

Though her face remains unmoved, Harpuia’s eyes flash when they lay on the ancient warrior. “Zero,” she acknowledges with grudging respect.

“Harpuia,” Zero returns.

“It is rare for you to propose a truce. I am curious to what you have to say.”

“I’ll explain everything once Leviathan is here.”

As if the name summoned him, Leviathan’s voice blares out of a speaker coming from the chopper’s direction, which hovers in place right above the clearing. “Move, I’m not going to pull a Fefnir and jump off from this height.”

“When did you start hating heights?” Fefnir calls back, but she and Harpuia are already shuffling to the side for the transport to land.

The air whips around the robots until the chopper’s blades slow down. Even after they completely stop, Leviathan doesn’t come out until the wind settles, walking down the unfurled steps like a prince. He looks disgusted as he joins the other two Guardians.

“It’s not the height. It’s the dust,” Leviathan sniffs, patting off the imperceptible dirt off his shoulders. At Zero, he raises his hand, wagging his fingers with a half-lidded smile. “Good to see you, Zero! Next time, host a meeting underwater. Preferably with the two of us.”

“Ciel said that she will hand over her research,” Harpuia begins coolly, going straight to the point before Leviathan can derail it, “if the Resistance gets something in return. She did not specify what it was, only that she will leave the terms to you.”

Equally efficient, Zero asks back,” Are we on the same page regarding Copy X?”

He gets his answer when he sees two faces writ with confusion and Harpuia’s, who’s stock frozen.

“So only you know,” Zero remarks, voice tinged with accusation. “You didn’t tell them who else was in the Dark Elf’s Vault?”

Harpuia’s jaw tightens, not looking back at Fefnir who whirls to the Strong Air Cavalry general. “Oi, what does he mean by that?”

“The X you served and I retired wasn’t the real X,” Zero directs to Fefnir bluntly. “Long time ago, someone made a copy of her and that copy ruled Neo Arcadia while the original operated as a Cyber-elf. The real X’s body was in the Vault acting as a seal for the Dark Elf. When Elpizo released the Elf, he destroyed her body too.”

Leviathan erupts into laughter. At Zero’s deepening glare, he quips,” Oh sorry, your joke was so bad I couldn’t help it. Don’t mind me, keep going.”

“I’m serious.”

Leviathan waves him off patronizingly. “Sure you are. You’re saying that the master I served for the past decade was fake. This coming from _you,_ the local amnesiac who woke up, what. Two years ago? I think I knew who X was better than you did.” He huffs out of her nose. “By the way, thanks for retiring her. You didn’t triple my workload or anything,” he adds sarcastically.

The blasé way Leviathan comments about his former empress’ demise off-foots Zero. But Fefnir is staring at the silent Harpuia besides her, and her silence compels Leviathan to look over the other Guardians’ way as well with a raised brow.

“Harpuia, what is he talking about?” asks Fefnir.

But Harpuia’s hands become fists by her sides and she keeps frowning down at the ground, appearing vaguely frustrated, like there’s a problem she doesn’t know how to take down. Even Leviathan’s nonchalant attitude slowly gives way to concern.

“Harpy…?” he starts.

“What does that have to do with this? State your conditions,” Harpuia speaks finally while Fefnir’s eyes widen next to her.

“X is fading away and there’s a chance to save her,” says Zero. “Ciel is going to design her a frame, but she needs more research. That’s where the Guardians come in. She needs to study your builds to make one that’s compatible to X or else the body won’t handle her.”

“What. The hell. Are you talking about.” Fefnir punctuates like a spitting firecracker.

“I will explain later,” Harpuia snipes, which doesn’t smother Fefnir’s glare a bit. To Zero, she says,” Let’s keep this simple. Essentially, you want the opportunity to open us up and reverse-engineer our designs. In return, we get the research to resolve the energy crisis.”

“Yes.”

“Foolish,” the green Guardian judges instantly. “We came because we thought if you of all bots were offering a trade, you’d have something worth putting on the table. How disappointing. Your nonsensical reasons aside, this is a bad bargain. What you’re asking for requires immense trust on our part, and there’s no evidence that your commander has completed her research.” Her lips curl upwards in a sneer. “As far as I’m aware, the Resistance targeted our supply routes last week. If you had the energy, you wouldn’t be feeding off us like the lowly roaches you are.”

“No, that was only me,” says Zero. “I was amassing crystals for X.” A pause. “Neo Arcadia’s weak security made it convenient too. You should look into that.”

At Harpuia’s offended reaction, Zero has the mind to say, “Sorry. I no longer need the crystal so I won’t be targeting the routes anymore. I can’t give them back though. I already gave them away.”

“This is why we can’t have nice things,” Leviathan quips.

“You wretched miscreant! After all the pains and upheaval you’ve laid against humanity, you honestly expect us to trust you and – _what are you doing?_ ” the Strong Air Cavalry leader’s voice drops dangerously, noticing that Zero is reaching for his saber’s hilt.

“I didn’t come here expecting any of you to believe me,” answers Zero, whipping out his sword by his side, angling it in a transitionary stance into combat. “And I didn’t expect to reach a compromise either. I only wanted to provide context to why I have to do this.”

Because if X happened to be around and was listening in, she’d be disappointed if Zero didn’t “try,” as she would put it. No need to raise her ire unnecessarily. Best friends don’t do that to each other.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but now _that’s_ a language I can speak,” Fefnir smiles a wolf’s grin. She grabs Harpuia’s shoulder and tugs the green robot to move out of her way. Her arm cannon whirs to a high-pitch keen. “Frag negotiations. This is what I came for.”

“Fefnir!” Harpuia snaps.

The Red Ripper’s eyes flash as he falls into position, power distributors coming alight with the promise of battle.

The look Harpuia aims at the Crimson Hero can make a hurricane feel inferior.

“So everything was a waste of time then.” Leviathan sing-songs. “I can’t believe I left the ocean for this. Cute story though. That’ll bring me a chuckle when I get bored.”

Zero scrutinizes the three robots before him. Harpuia, Fefnir, and Leviathan. Three powerful elemental reploids. Three different combat styles. One Zero.

He’s outnumbered and he’s never fought more than one Guardian at the same time before. But Fefnir excels in aggressive, close-quarter combat combined with long-range explosions and to fight in a forested area like this may limit her (unless she decides to happily raze it all down, terraforming the field to fight freely). A master swooper, Harpuia won’t follow Zero into the trees if the warbot tries to take the battle there. Harpuia will take advantage of the vertical space in the clearing, which means Zero won’t be able to easily shoot the aerial-based Guardian from the sky, Harpuia won’t stray far from this very location.

Among the Guardians, Leviathan is at the most disadvantage. His heavier ice-based attacks are rendered obsolete above water. He can’t rapidly swim above Zero and drop obstacles above him, can’t use water momentum to steadily aim dragons, and his helmet fins – which aid his balance, stability, and direction underwater – are dead weight on land. His specialization is crippling in these circumstances. The problem is his speed; without the natural frictional drag that comes with moving underwater, his thrusters would have no problem taking him to the opposite side of the field in seconds. If he wants to run, he can do so easily.

That means Zero needs to take him down first. Zero is banking on Harpuia’s pride and Fefnir’s bloodlust that they won’t flee. Leviathan is too capricious – Zero can’t count on the blue robot’s ennui to stick around for a show.

At least Zero has a plan.

Rushing forward, Zero takes out his buster with his other hand and raises the buster at Harpuia, the one closest to him. The green reploid reflexively hops back, summoning her respective saber –

But Zero flies past the Guardian to fire three precise shots at one of the chopper’s wings before jumping high, saber in hand, and slices through the wing. Severe the obvious escape route.

If the Guardians weren’t alert, they are now.

“Smelt me, you want to take all of us on?” Fefnir cackles, unbothered by the property damage while Leviathan shrieks,” Hey, that was my ride home! I refuse to walk the entire way back - on _dirt!”_

“That’s fine. You won’t be walking,” says Zero right before he swings a blade at Leviathan’s legs.

* * *

When Zero left, it was noon.

Now the sun is setting and there hasn’t been any word back from him. Ciel has tried to reach him multiple times only to receive radio silence. While it’s not the first time this has happened before, the implications are worrying; clearly, negotiations have fallen through.

Which means Zero is all the way in the Forest of Dysis with the Guardians, if he’s even there anymore.

Zero has pulled off miracles against outstanding odds so she holds onto hope, putting off the command to order a recon team to see what happened at Dysis even though she desperately wants to. She tries to focus on the CIEL System instead, only to find herself mindlessly fiddling with the golden cuffs of a magenta overcoat. Grimacing, she forces herself to put the fabric away and drags a hand across her face.

Then her headset pipes up with Jaune’s voice. _“Ciel, Zero’s coming back. He just requested us to transfer him. He…he also said to prepare the maintenance room...”_

Paling, the young girl dashes out of the lab. She calls Rocinolle, the head medical reploid, to come to Command with first-response supplies just in case, and sprints to Command. When she arrives, Jaune and Rouge are typing furiously into the console, calculating coordinates for safe transference.

“Preparing transfer,” Rouge announces, an order for all personnel to back away from the machine.

The transfer pad fires up. Green light shoots up like a beacon, wind whipping around from the center of the room, tossing Ciel’s ponytail up and down. Unconsciously, she clasps her hands together on her chest in an instinctive prayer –

Out of the machine pops in a red leg.

Ciel’s hands fly to her mouth, choking off a scream. Terrified gasps erupt around. Jaune and Rouge’s mouths drop, the normally cool Navigators’ fingers frozen above their respective consoles. Behind Ciel, a stocky reploid passes her, Rocinolle hesitating as she stares down at the lone limb.

“…That’s not Zero’s leg,” the medical reploid points out.

Ciel blinks, her panic ebbing away from view. Slowly, the blonde walks closer, observing the knee. Rocinolle is right. That’s not Zero’s leg.

Then…whose leg is it?

Jaune’s hand flies up to her headset. “Er, transferring again?” she announces uncertainly.

This time a bizarre, half sickle-shaped green thing appears right on top of the not-Zero’s leg. Ciel isn’t sure what she’s looking at. It has a cylindrical fuel barrel and a rocket nozzle at the tip – wait a second. That’s a wing.

To the increasing confusion of everyone in the room, more and more random parts add to the growing, macabre pile. A cobalt arm. A crimson shoulder pauldron. A green wing-shaped antennae.

“Oh my god,” Ciel gapes in horrified understanding.

“Z-Zero says he’s really coming this time,” Rouge stutters. She gestures weakly at the transerver pad. “Can someone please…”

With the absolutely done attitude ever present to those working in the medical field, Rocinolle looks to the other stock frozen Resistance members, barking,” Come on. I need to keep my stretcher clear for Zero. Clear the way.”

Galvanized, several camo-green clad reploids take one or two limbs like they’re handling biological waste. Nobody wants to deal with this.

“Transferring Zero…” Jaune swallows. The transerver glows for one last time…

The Crimson Legend teleports into Base caked in dried mud, robot blood and black marks clinging to his body like a second layer of armor. He’s ventilating heavily, chest shuddering like his core is threatening to quake out of his chassis.

He doesn’t arrive alone.

The scientist stares, her head feeling light as she takes in the scene: Zero is grabbing the back of Fighting Fefnir’s neck with his right hand, the Scorched Earth Squadron general’s offline body on the floor, a ragged metal doll. Hooked in Zero’s left arm is Sage Harpuia, bent over by Zero’s side like a sack of dirt. Fairy Leviathan is hanging loosely over Zero’s hunched back in a morbid parody of a piggyback, the Deep Sea Navy general’s head lolled too lowly over the red warbot’s shoulder, clearly unconscious. They’re all suspiciously laced in similar burn marks like Zero.

“Bolts, Zero took on the Guardians!” Hibou breaks the silence, pointing dramatically at the dying robot heap.

“Zero, why did you bring them? Frag, what - what do we _do_ with them?!” someone else cries. “Are we kidnapping them? _Is this a kidnapping?”_

Coming to check on the commotion, Andrew lumbers to the entrance, cane tapping. The elderly reploid takes in the scene calmly, his drive so full that his only reaction is a hand to his synthetic beard, stroking thoughtfully.

“Hmm, does this mean we own Neo Arcadia now?” he wonders aloud. Curiosity satisfied, he turns back where he entered, leaving everyone with that heavy thought.

Ciel is going to faint. This is everything and nothing she expected.

“Th-this is undig-dignified…” a voice brimming with absolute loathing comes out of Harpuia’s form and someone screams, “She’s still functioning!”

Harpuia’s head creaks up slowly, revealing the most venomous glare Ciel has ever seen. Coughing static out of her wrecked vocal box, she seethes, “To be tre-treated as used g-goods…”

Reaching his limit, Zero collapses, knees clacking loudly against the floor. Harpuia squawks ungracefully, cleanly faceplanting while Leviathan slips down of Zero’s back, only held up by leaning against the combatdroid. Fefnir groans as the hold on her neck loosens, but her eyes remain close.

“I…brought…everything,” Zero utters finally. “It’s…your turn…Ciel.”

The warbot falls forward and Ciel barely catches him in time, crying out as sixty kilograms of metal land painfully into her bony shoulders.

Willing her head to rise, the Commander orders around the weight in her throat. “Everyone here besides Jaune and Rouge, please take Zero and the Guardians to the maintenance room. Get their conditions stabilized!”

“We’re saving them?!” a Resistance member questions incredulously.

“Hurry!” Ciel commands, brooking no argument.

The four broken robots are promptly wheeled to medbay. Rocinolle has her assistants replace leaking cables, plugging in external ones to stream energen into emptying fuel tanks. Harpuia stops protesting in the middle of a raging tirade as she gets strapped onto an operating table. Her systems opt an emergency forced shutdown when her core, slightly dislodged from his internal chassis chest cavity, lightly bumps against the inner wall of her chassis.

A reploid scientist herself, Ciel examines every fighter’s processor, relieved to see no one has head trauma. While some injuries are deeply concerning, they’re repairable.

Thank heavens no one is retiring tonight.

Absentmindedly, she takes an empty cart from the maintenance room, fills it with the Guardians’ separated parts, and walks it over to her lab. When the door closes behind her, she stands in the middle of the room, blinking as if she just woke up from a strange dream.

Alright. Status report.

Because Zero is _absolutely insane,_ all three Guardians are currently under the Resistance’s roof, out of commission. Neo Arcadia’s upper leadership structure is gone, but she’s not going to worry about that right now – okay, wrong, she’s _definitely_ worrying about it. What will happen to Neo Arcadia? Is it going to retaliate? Well, maybe the empire won’t strike back if it doesn’t know it’s the Resistance – oh, who is she kidding, of course they’ll find out the Resistance is behind it. Who else has a record of terminating Neo Arcadia’s rulers?

No. Be optimistic. This is fine; Ciel just needs to work fast, that’s all. Study the Guardians, make the frame, and then…send them back to Neo Arcadia? Like nothing will happen? Like Neo Arcadia won’t finally unleash its entire military force onto them out of retaliation?

…This is why Ciel wanted to do this peacefully.

Groaning, she buries her face with both hands. She counts to ten, breathing in and out deeply, and slaps her cheeks. Sky blue eyes take on a determined edge.

If she succeeds tethering X to the physical realm, the Robot Master of All has it in her power to make it all better. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

No time for regrets, Ciel is on the clock. There’s work to do.

* * *

The medical team gets Zero back into working order after a day and a half of devoted attention. Zero has returned to Base as a walking wreck enough times that the Resistance can patch him up with their optics offline. Ciel tells him to take it easy, which Zero respectively disregards. It’s difficult to order Zero to stop being reckless when he produces such results, but it’s so stressful to see the warrior treat his body so carelessly, like it’s not his to break.

For obvious security reasons (and because Ciel is taking them apart further), Cerveau and Rocinolle relieve the Guardians of their weapons and leave their missing limbs alone. In fact, after repairing critical injuries, the medical team takes more safety measures.

Which is why when Zero and Ciel enter the maintenance room, they’re greeted to a sight of all three Guardians conscious and restrained: Harpuia is standing, back straight and chin up, like she isn’t wearing shock handcuffs. Her other wing is safely dismantled. Missing his left arm, Leviathan is sitting gloomily at the edge of the medical slab, ankles welded together and thruster nozzles plugged. He’s managing to swing his legs back and forth without letting the weight throw him off balance.

Zero raises a brow at Fefnir, who’s tied up in comical amounts of chains with duct tape over her mouth, sitting in a corner petulantly.

“You guys can stand up already? You’re hard to keep down,” Zero comments.

“If you wanted to be efficient, you would crush our cores,” Harpuia snarks. She shoots a glare at Ciel. “I am sure we would be effective study subjects retired as we are online.”

“I – uh, don’t want anyone to be retired?” Ciel squeaks.

“Then it must be _your_ clever idea to set off the explosion,” Harpuia sneers at Zero.

Ciel whirls to the warbot. “You had a bomb? How did you get your hands on one?!”

“It wasn’t me,” Cerveau cuts in quickly.

“I didn’t have a bomb. I turned my buster into one. I’m going to need a new one, Cerveau,” says Zero.

“Okay!” Ciel shouts, commanding everyone’s attentions to her. “Harpuia, Leviathan, Fefnir – good morning! The last time we’ve seen each other was back in Neo Arcadia and that was a very long time ago. I know we’ve had…” she winces, “conflicts since then, but I am hoping we can move on from them – “

“You’re parasitic terrorists who murdered Master X,” Harpuia snaps.

“And you’re enforcers of a hypocritical and oppressive oligarchical dictatorship that sends innocent reploids to concentration camps!” the teen counters with manic cheer.

“Don’t you dare get started on politics, I’m going to break both of your faces in with the arm I _do_ have,” Leviathan groans. “Just tell us what you want already, little girl. I’m in a bad mood and unlike Harpy, I don’t have hang-ups that you’re human.”

“I will, but, um.” Ciel peers at Fefnir, who looks like she can shoot lasers from her eyes. “First, why is she duct-taped?”

“She was making quite the racket earlier,” Rocinolle explains, clicking her tongue. “She’s calmed down since then it seems.”

Cautiously, Ciel approaches Fefnir and bends down to tug the edge of the tape gently -

Zero reaches out and grabs her shoulder, pulling her back. The teen’s back collides against his chest with a loud yelp, barely evading Fefnir’s attempt to bite her hand off.

“ZERO, YOU’RE DEAD YA HEAR ME!” Fefnir erupts with renewed fury, the chains jangling around her form as if threatening to break. The surrounding Resistance security guards aim their busters at the flame-based reploid as if she’s as viable a threat as unrestrained. “THAT WAS THE WORST FIGHT I’VE EVER HAD! WHEN I BEAT YOU, I’M GOING TO TAKE YOU APART! I’M GOING TO SMELT YOUR BODY INTO SLAG – “

“And there she goes,” Rocinolle sighs.

“ - CHURN IT INTO SWARF, AND RECYCLE YOU INTO A NEW REPLOID - _AND I’LL INCINERATE THAT ONE TOO!”_

With a straight face, Zero unceremoniously palms the rest of the dangling duct tape back over Fefnir’s mouth again. Fefnir thrashes her head in a way that she would be much louder if she wasn’t muffled.

Tsking, Rocinolle suggests, “I recommend keeping her on time-out. She wouldn’t stop yelling obscenities even when little Alouette drops by. It’s not good to expose a young reploid’s development with such language.”

Rubbing her temples, Ciel says,” Everyone who’s not Zero and me, please leave the room for ten minutes. I need to talk to the Guardians privately and I really can’t deal with all of this, I’m sorry.”

“Absolutely no problem,” Cerveau quips, eager to leave. He grabs his toolkit and rushes to the door, waving over the other uncertain Resistance soldiers. “Come on. It’s not like any of you can guard the Commander better than Zero. I should know. I supplied your weapons.”

“You heard the lady. Shoo, all of you,” adds Rocinolle, following behind the last of the soldiers out the door. She mouths “good luck” to Ciel over her shoulder before the door closes.

“How,” Harpuia starts in a disbelieving tone, “is this the same organization that infiltrated Neo Arcadia.”

“X cracked the security system of the transerver in Neo Arcadia and gave us the coordinates. The real X, I mean,” answers Zero.

Leviathan rolls his eyes. ”You’re still on about that?”

Fefnir makes a suspicious sound like agreement while Harpuia purses her lips tightly.

“I heard from Zero that you didn’t believe him, but please, let me have my turn to explain,” Ciel pleas. “The X that was on the throne for the past half-decade was _not_ the real X. I know because…because I made her. I made Copy X.”

“I’ve heard better lies,” Leviathan drawls. “Next.”

“It’s not a lie! I still have her design, I can show you – “

“Just admit you want to reproduce our builds for your pathetic army. I don’t blame you. Our constructions are irresistible. We’re so high-quality we’re leagues ahead anything you can personally come up with,” the oceanic Guardian smiles meanly.

Fefnir laughs through her gag and Ciel reddens in an awful package of frustration and humiliation.

Zero steps in. “Harpuia, when the Baby Elves left you, you told me to protect X. You knew she was in the Vault. Tell them!”

“You’ve reduced me to a prisoner of war. I have no obligations to play along with your nonsense.”

“Play along?“

This time, Ciel’s the one grabbing him, physically holding the combatdroid back from throttling Harpuia further. “Zero, no fighting!”

“This is a waste of time. No matter what you say, they won’t believe it or help,” he emphasizes the last word towards the green reploid. “You might as well take what you need.”

“But that isn’t right! The Resistance can’t just keep taking and taking or else we’ll be validating what they’re saying! Look, I’ll just head back to my room and grab all the evidence that I made Copy X. I know I have her designs somewhere – “

“Bring along your so-called alternate energy research while you’re at it. If it’s real, that is,” Harpuia snips.

“It is! I’m still willing to make the trade. The CIEL System for your explicit consent to participate in my research – which is to save X, by the way! Please, working together is better for – “

“Your previous Commander attempted to destroy Neo Arcadia and you dare speak of cooperation?”

“Ooh, that’s right. How could I forget about Elpizo?” Leviathan gasps theatrically. “The inferior ex-Neo Arcadian who sent all those Resistance cannon fodder. Really stupid stunt. I can’t believe none of you stopped him. All that trouble and pointless reploid deaths because of an idiot.”

At Elpizo’s name, Ciel clamps up, glancing away in shame. Noticing her wet eyes, the last of Zero’s patience evaporates. Zero reaches for his sword by his hip and the Guardians hone onto the movement, expecting it and welcoming it.

“Ciel, tell me what you require. I’ll get them.”

“Zero, no!”

“Bring it! It’ll be a lot less obnoxious that hearing you rattle on.”

“Oh my god, can we please talk like civilized people for one minute?!“

“If you think that we can be amicable when you have us anchored here like prisoners, you need to have your head checked.”

“Ciel, there’s no use talking to them. If you need their nanites, I’ll carve it out of their – “

_“Stop.”_

A hand has taken ahold of the world and halted its rotation. The room falls into silence. Zero’s hand freezes on the Z-Saber’s hilt and the Guardians simultaneously flinch. 

Harpuia’s viridian eyes grow wide as circles. “The voice from the temple…”

“What is this feeling?” Leviathan whispers. He slowly claws his chest, baffled. “What…?”

Fefnir’s chains rattle softly as she crumbles forward, her knees touching her chest.

A small orb of light drifts down to the center of the room, pulsing twice before washing the floors and walls in a flash.

Reflexively, Ciel looks away from the overwhelming light. Ignoring his readjusting visual feed, Zero gazes straight ahead to X’s back, a wave of calm flooding through him at the sight of Neo Arcadia’s founder.

Harpuia’s face falls. “You weren’t a processing error…”

 _Finally,_ thinks Zero.

“Took you long enough, X,” he huffs, secretly relieved.

X’s haloed crown leaves a trail of Cyberspace’s remnants as she twists her head subtly, scanning every individual present. Satisfied, the empress finally turns to the warbot, her glowing green eyes uncharacteristically cool. Despite being confused of the icy reception, Zero meets her gaze head-on, unintimidated.

“I was searching for the Dark Elf,” begins the Azure Angel, “the most dangerous Cyber-elf who can transform any noncombatant reploid into a destructive war machine….who can control and corrupt any reploid under her possession…

“And I return to see my partitions abducted…” she condemns Zero, ”…who in turn are bullying a child who wishes for a truce,” she says to the Guardians in equal censure.

Everybody sans Ciel flinches. The teen rubs her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m fine. Sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Ciel. You always harbored good intentions…misled as they can be sometimes…”

“I’ll make up for Copy X. I promise.”

Floating to Fefnir, X takes off the belligerent reploid’s duct tape. This time Fefnir stays quiet. Too speechless.

“Ciel, you were nine. You didn’t know any better and there wasn’t a single adult who discouraged you. I hold no resentment towards you for that. If creating the copy was a sin, you atoned as soon as you created the Resistance. If anything…”

X looks upon the Guardians with disappointment. Whether it’s targeted at herself or her physical legacies, no one is sure.

“My desire to protect. My desire to grow. My desire to be free. My desire to be safe. In my apathy, I have let you four run without guidance until you twisted into self-indulgent extremes. That was my error. But for all of your power and intelligence, not once have any of you questioned your master’s tyranny. ‘To be neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.’ You were far from ignorant and yet you remained complacent.”

X’s form statics. “No, Ciel…if anything, you are our better. When I said misled, I do not mean the copy.”

Instantly, all three Guardians clutch their chest at the same time, eyes wide and unseeing. They look as shocked as Zero feels when tears stream down their eyes. Harpuia makes an impressive yet futile effort to pretend she’s not crying. Fefnir looks like she doesn’t know whether to scream or bawl, resorting to hiccups and hitches in her emotional indecision. Leviathan watches in confounded fascination as his own tears drip to the floor.

Then they all look at Zero. The combined attentions of the Guardians’ unnatural reactions disturb the warbot. It’s worse that they don’t seem to know why they’re suddenly looking at Zero either.

“You’re right, Zero…I do owe you so I will try for your sake. However, promise me that if this fails… you will give up on me…the Dark Elf is out there and there are even greater threats beyond her. You don’t…have time to waste…playing with the dead…”

“It won’t fail. Ciel will pull it off. I believe in her,” Zero replies without a doubt,” You should too.”

Smiling, X shakes her head. Her form is glitching rapidly like a timer coming to its end. She vanishes in a blink.

“Get me out of these chains,” Fefnir is the first to speak in the long moment after X leaves. Her voice is gravelly and calm. “I’m not going to fight. If you need to open me up to make Master X a body, then yeah. You got my consent.”

“Return me my communicator,” Harpuia says authoritatively. “I must contact Neo Arcadia to not raise any panic over our absences. If Aztec Falcon hasn’t already sent a retrieval team for us, he would by now.”

Resting an elbow on his knee, Leviathan bends forward, chin on his palm. “Before you come anywhere near my body, I want to take a dip. Is there a body of water near here?”

“…If you go outside, the ocean is right there?” offers Ciel, not believing her ears.

Leviathan nods approvingly. "At least you have decent taste in positioning. At least that's something until I can corner Master X. I have ninety-nine questions and she’s the only one who can answer them.” A pause. “Hey Harpy, when you contact Neo Arcadia, get a team to set up an ocean outpost. There’s no reason not to make this place more livable.”

Zero and Ciel exchange glances.

So. This is really happening.

Okay.


	3. Chapter 3

Ciel forgot how useful it was to be privileged.

Okay, so she’s not entirely out of the clear yet, but Neo Arcadia isn’t actively hunting down the Resistance anymore and that’s a plus in her book. In fact, the empire is helping them: once the Guardians have it in their minds to commit backing Ciel’s project, the city follows. It’s a bit different than when she used to be in Neo Arcadia’s inner fold because she’s under supervision not as a valuable human experiment-turned-scientist, but as a terrorist.

Which is fine. For so long she has to scavenge barely functional parts and scraps in the abandoned towns the Resistance Base houses in, a far cry from the wealth of accessible resources she had back in the Empire. It’s dizzying to have it again; the Guardians have summoned bodies and materials to the Base - initially intended for their personal use (because Leviathan is totally aware he’s basically military royalty and takes full advantage of it), and sort of wave the leftovers off to Ciel, which were more than enough.

So really, she’s leeching off the _Guardians’_ privilege, but it’s all the same to her in the end because before she knows it, she’s done. Literally done making a new body for X. She does it so quickly that she triple-checks the schematics, tests the limbs compatibility based on Harpuia, Fefnir, and Leviathan’s designs to each other, wondering if she missed anything. She hasn’t.

If anything, the hardest part about the entire ordeal is explaining to the other Resistance members that yes, she’s building an “another” X.

“But…why?” little Alouette asks, gripping her plushie tightly at the sight of the robot skeleton in Ciel’s lab.

Ciel puts together a hasty explanation about how the “old X” maybe had a broken suffering circuit and Neo Arcadia still needs a proper leader and god, even when she’s trying to put it in terms simple enough for a human child of ten years to understand, she knows she’s making _no sense at all_ because it doesn’t. As long as no one knows the true story, it won’t.

Ciel is banking on the trust her ragtag bunch of a family gives her. It works for now.

 _“It’s not going to be just the other Resistance members,”_ X warns softly, standing modestly in the corner as if she has a physical form and politely keeping out of Ciel’s way. 

“I know. Everyone will ask for an explanation, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Ciel smiles, weak only because she’s exhausted but she’s determined.

X shakes her head. _“That’s not what I mean. When the copy retired, Neo Arcadia’s power structure…”_

“Fell to the Guardians,” inputs Zero standing by the Cyber-elf. “Neo Arcadia didn’t undergo a severe societal change.”

X looks at the warbot then, her face blank in a way that’s deliberate. Both her and Zero are in a staring contest and Ciel focuses back to the robot doll of a body on the operation slab, her hands busying with putting together the final cable realignments.

Wiping her forehead, the young scientist pulls away with a nod, sealing the panel over the power core cavity. “Anytime you’re ready, X.”

The Cyber-elf’s form flickers as she floats over, peering down at the body. She flickers again. Ciel isn’t sure if that means something.

“X,” Zero urges when X doesn’t move.

 _“We’re all aware of the worst-case scenarios, correct?_ ” says X.

“They’re not going to happen,” Zero asserts as Ciel hugs her elbows to herself.

_“Zero…I don’t know how much of your memories have returned, but…do you recall our promise after Final Weapon?”_

Now it’s Zero’s turn to frown. Reluctantly, he shakes his head.

_“That’s alright. What I want to say is…whatever happens, you have to accept it for what it is. As soon as something goes wrong, you have to take care of me. Promise?”_

“X – “

_“I’m not going through this unless you promise me, Zero.”_

“…I promise,” Zero replies begrudgingly,” Only if you promise me you’ll do your best. Ciel worked hard. Don’t waste this.”

Ciel’s memories of X before the genuine article disappeared are admittingly a bit foggy considering how young she was when she met the empress. She only had vague emotions of what she felt around X. Ciel remembers that she always felt safe around the Blue Bomber: no matter what, as long as X is around, everything will be okay.

That’s because X never looked vulnerable. For the first time, Ciel sees uncertainty strike across the Azure Angel’s face before it smooths over with the gaze of a soldier who’ve fought a thousand battles, another expression she hasn’t seen before either. X hasn’t entered the body yet and she already appears more…grounded.

 _“I will,”_ says X.

X dives down into the body in a flash of blinding light. Zero tenses and Ciel holds her breath, watching the monitors connected to the body’s data logs fluctuate wildly at the overwhelming bursts of energy.

When the numbers and lines lower down to something safer, the Resistance’s commander exhales shakily. “Nothing exploded.” Which is a good sign, but they’re not entirely out of the clear yet.

Slowly, Zero unwinds from his combat-ready stance. However, instead of dropping his hand back down by his side, he raises it higher until he’s laying it over X’s to-be body’s chest.

“It’s thrumming,” he says so quietly that Ciel barely hears him. “She’s really in there. She’s _here.”_

The scientist becomes flooded with mixed feelings; this is the first time she’s done anything like this and Ciel isn’t perfect. She’s made horrible, _horrible_ mistakes before and they had lasting consequences. Her insecurity compels her to say something to not raise any hopes.

But Zero is tracing the closed lids of X’s eyes as if encouraging them to open. He’s cupping a cheek, thumbing over the robot skin as if that face will turn and lean into it. No one can look at Zero then and think he’s entirely emotionless; it’s clear he’s hoping and waiting for X to wake up so badly that it’s heartbreaking. Ciel almost wants to leave – she feels like she’s intruding a personal moment.

However, she needs to be close by in case a new development happens.

So she walks to the end of the room and shuffles through a chest in a corner, pulling out a pillow and sleeping bag.

“I’ve slept in the lab more times than I can count,” she says bashfully under Zero’s raised brow. “But this way, I’ll grab some sleep and still be here if anything happens.”

With that said, Ciel unfurls the sleeping bag underneath her desk where it shields the overhead lights and crawls in snugly. “Wake me up, alright?”

“…Understood,” says Zero with a hint of approval Ciel isn’t sure she’s imagining. She hasn’t been sleeping as much as she liked recently.

In the resulting silence save for the low thrum of working machinery, Ciel’s breathing becomes slow and even almost immediately. Zero exvents at the speed at which Ciel fell asleep before turning his attention to X again. Time ticks on for what feels like hours, but it means nothing. The Dark Elf still roams and Zero will hunt her and every potential threat in the unforeseeable future if he must.

He’ll carry out the duties that X gave him and protect this world. The least she can for him though…

“You owe us,” he whispers, clenching his fists by his sides. “You owe me, X.”

_Come back to me._

* * *

“How much longer is this going to take?” Leviathan snaps, fingers drumming across his arms impatiently.

“X still needs to adjust,” Ciel responds smoothly, standing guardedly right outside of the operating lab with her hands on her hips while the Guardians glower down on her. A single, squishy blockade who’s not going anywhere.

Because they may be the Guardians, Ciel is the Resistance’s Head Scientist and Commander and now she gets to pull the “I am the resident expert” card to tell them to back _off._

“You’ve informed us that she’s already awoken,” Harpuia says coolly.

“That’s waking up, not adjusting,” Ciel points out the difference. “This period is critical for X to fully return to us.”

“But Zero gets to be inside,” sneers Fefnir.

“Zero isn’t a Cyber-elf,” is the swift retort.

“We aren’t either,” drawls Leviathan, unimpressed.

Ciel waves her hand in a gesture that implies an in-between. “That’s debatable.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I studied your bodies, I found that there’s a difference in your energy allocation, dispersion, and frequency from authentic reploids, which allows you to manipulate the Cyberspace compatible properties in the physical realm.” Which is anything metal, robotic, and cybernetic in nature. “It’s how you can utilize the Armed Phenomenon. You three aren’t reploids as much as you’re Cyber-elves _wearing_ reploid bodies. You go inside while X is still trying to…” she scrunches her face, trying to verbalize it,” fit? Yes, fit inside the new body - you’re going to be dragged into her flow.”

With that said, Ciel opens the door behind her and steps back without breaking eye contact. “Until X adjusts enough that she can leave this room by herself, you three need to stay away. She’s the same as you guys now: a Cyber-elf wearing a reploid suit. If anything goes wrong, she might unintentionally manipulate _your_ bodies to add into _hers_.”

While Fefnir and Leviathan give twin looks of open shock, Harpuia frowns contemplatively as if she’s considering if that’s really all that bad, god.

“I know you’re worried, but please. Believe in me,” Ciel sympathizes. Before she gets a reply, she closes the door and twists around to lay her back against it, exhausted. 

Zero still stands in the center of the room by X. He hasn’t budged a centimeter. Every now and then, the seemingly motionless robot twitches, so short and subtle that it appears a fluke. Except Ciel knows better.

“Are they giving you trouble?” Zero asks without looking away from X.

“Not really. They’re just worried and I understand that. They’ve been super cooperative so far.” Ciel’s lips quirk at the corner.

When Ciel tentatively asked Fefnir if she could study the red reploi’s buster log history, Fefnir casually handed it over without a fuss. No shooting or screaming. Then there’s Harpuia who voluntarily handed Ciel a datapad of the reploid blueprints from the twenty-second century, claiming that she got it when her team was excavating this sunken library that Leviathan found. Since X’s body was used as a template for the first reploid lines, she thought that studying that could help.

Ciel practically vibrated in excitement when she read it. Apparently the early reploid lines were super durable. Some had ceratanium for their external plating. Ceratanium! The average reploid was bulkier than the current models, but Ciel bets a Golem could throw them and they can _still_ get up afterwards.

She wishes she can see the world before the Elf Wars. Everything must have been so different.

 _“This_ is why we shouldn’t be fighting,” says Ciel as she strolls to her computer to check on the status. She types and prepares a couple more fail-safe programs into the prone robot, smiling at the progress. “Why humans and reploids should coexist peacefully. Can you imagine the amount of progress we can make if we worked together instead of trying to kill each other all the time?”

Zero grunts softly in assent.

Then: “I can. I’ve seen it for myself.”

Ciel whirls her head around so quickly she nearly gives herself whiplash from her own ponytail.

“X, that was a full sentence this time!” Ciel cries excitedly, rushing to Zero’s side.

She watches X’s face contort a bit before a pair of viridian optics flutter open, softly glowing indicating functionality.

Zero draws the Mother of All Reploids to an upright sitting position, his hand on her back supportively.

“I think…I’ve pinned down speech this time,” says X her lips twitching in a sporadic half-smile. “I haven’t been…in a body for so long that I…forgot how cumbersome it is.”

Ciel’s face falls. “Did I mess something up?”

X shakes her head stiltedly. “No…you did great. This is a strong, capable build…it’s just that I’m so used to simply going and doing whatever I pleased without receiving so…much sensory information. Now I need…to remember how to move multiple limbs at the same time and – “ X cuts herself with a sigh, taking a break. “Manually turn down internal system notifications until I can customize my settings.”

Ciel blinks. “Well, you’re already doing very well talking.” A huge jump in progress compare to X’s statics when she was figuring out how her new vocal box worked.

At a snail’s pace, X raises her arm, freezes it awkwardly in the air as if taking a break, and curves it forward towards Ciel. Understanding, the young scientist clasps it with her own two hands.

“Thank you, Ciel,” X says, projecting as much warmth as possible in her words.

“The pleasure is mine!” Ciel replies fervently. “It’s the least I can do after everything.”

Ciel lets go but X’s arm doesn’t go back down. Zero gently tucks X’s hand over her lap and positions her other hand to lie over that one. His fingers linger over X’s before drawing away.

“Is it imperative that she stays in the lab longer?” asks Zero.

Ciel cups her chin pensively. “For now X’s readings are coming back stable. The question is do you think you can walk?”

“I’ve yet to control both legs separately at the same time,” admits X, drawing up her knees up and down in short, aborted movements.

“I don’t want to risk overwhelming you into hyper-info absorption…but we should be providing your new build different forms of stimuli. Keeping you cooped up in the lab won’t be much help – “

Immediately, Zero sweeps X up into a bridal carry in a casual swoop, causing Ciel to jump backwards with a squeak.

“I’ll take her around until she’s ready,” says Zero, gazing down at X, a compliant doll in his arms. X looks up to him with exasperated eyes.

“Um,” Ciel comments eloquently as Zero strolls to the door, pressing the open button on the console with his elbow. “Oh okay! Keep her away from the Guardians if you can. It’s best not to take any risks this early.”

Zero stops at the door. He looks over his shoulder and says,” Ciel…thank you.”

Once he fully strides out, the blonde teenager slaps her hands over her face, resisting the urge to bend forward and scream or collect the security cameras’ recordings from the past five minutes. Her face is burning from second-hand embarrassment.

Holy _shit_ was that _smooth._

As Ciel mentally gets her bearings together, Zero is silently marveling and stomping down the urge to record the very real weight in his arms.

X isn’t going to disappear. He’ll have so many opportunities to touch her.

Zero takes the most obscure route to exit the Resistance Base, walking briskly through the narrower hallways. It’s a detour but he sees only three people, all of them gophers who ogle and nearly crash their carts of recycled materials and supplies into walls as he drifts pass them.

The combatdroid knows every centimeter of the base and if he so chooses, can walk around with his eyes closed relying purely on proximity sensors alone.

Which is good because Zero can’t stop looking at X.

She’s quiet, no questions and all trust, simply going along with the journey as they ride up the elevator. Her optics do narrow as soon as they reach above surface, the piercing golden light of the setting sun overwhelming for a moment. Zero tucks her closer to his chest, angling her upper body to turn more towards himself to partially shield her.

The second Resistance Base juts out partially of a rocky mountain right by a harbor, which overlooks the ocean. It’s slightly windy, but Zero is undeterred from the force, a steadily strolling down a curvy path that leads to a cliffside while his hair flutters around him.

Ever so gently, he sets X down, positioning her close to the edge to take in the view below if she so wishes, but far enough that it won’t be risky. With her new weight and activation stiffness, it’ll take a hurricane for X to fall off. Still, when Zero plops down next to her, he holds her hands.

Together they watch the reddening sun dipping down the horizon in peaceful silence.

“This is a misleading coincidence,” says X sounding amused.

Zero glances at her questioningly.

“Carrying me out to see the sunset. If someone didn’t know any better, they’d think you were being romantic.,” elaborates X. She’s able to smile properly now.

“But if someone knew better?” Zero prompts.

“They’d know you brought me here because the environmental exposure would be the right amount of stimulation for a recent-activated. Also, the solar energy is helpful.” X cranes her head back to relish the breeze. “Though plenty of things have drastically changed from the previous century, some gestures stay timelessly consistent. Be aware, Zero. You don’t want to give the wrong message.”

“…You’re already talking differently.”

“Hm?”

“When you were just a Cyber-elf, you would get straight to the point. You had to utilize your limited time and energy as efficiently as possible.”

“Because every word I’ve said could potentially be my last,” X finishes. This time when the blue android raises her free hand, the motion comes to her more easily. Studying it, she twists her hand in the air, spreading and closing her fingers. “It’s who I am. I’m nothing if not adaptable. Despite my initial reservations, I’ve accepted that I am physically here. However, we do need to talk about searching for the Dark Elf soon.”

“Finding the Dark Elf won’t be an issue,” Zero dismisses. “We were in a rush to find her because we were on a race against Neo Arcadia. With you here, there’s no more competition.” Not if the Guardians dare to rebel against their predecessor, which Zero highly doubts. They loyalty to the copy spoke volumes.

X quirks her head in subtle surprise. “You’re correct, but it’s not like you to not be mission-orientated.”

 _“That_ mission’s timetable has lengthened. My newest and current directive is to be by your side.”

“I’ll be fine. I expect that within a few days, I’ll adjust enough to be independent.”

“I also want you to talk to you about something.”

“Such as?”

After a brief moment, Zero confesses lowly,” Earlier what you said…I’m not unaware.”

Slowly, viridian eyes turn to him. To drive in the meaning, Zero tugs X’s hand forward, hooking his arms around her back and burying his head in the crook between her neck and shoulder.

“I’ve been remembering a lot since I’ve reawakened two years ago,” he says into the side of X’s helmet. “I’m not as clueless as I used to be, X.”

Zero pulls back enough to press his lips against X’s cheek. Though soft, the texture is different from his memories, but it doesn’t matter because it’s still X and that’s what matters.

“You did it to me first,” he says over her robot skin, secretly relishing the way her eyes widen, the way she shivers from the sensation. She’s so undeniably solid.

“Back at Central Highway when the Rebellion began,” X swallows. “You told me to never do it again.”

“I thought it meant good-bye.” Even later when Zero learned more the various meanings of the awfully specific gesture, he still carried mixed feelings against it. Maverick Hunters weren’t meant to last, deeper relationships less so.

“…You kissed me before you entered hibernation,” X’s voice strains.

Zero feels a hand slithering up between them, pressing against his chest in an unspoken message for him to let go. Instead, he holds on tighter.

“It means different now,” Zero vows.

“Okay, Zero,” X says simply. Her blank face strikes him less of her lack of control over her affectations and more of being unconvinced.

A pang of desperation shoots through him. This time he kisses her on the lips, firm and full. It’s a small blessing that they don’t need to breathe; Zero only pulls away to press more and more, not able to completely hold back some of the angry desperation that fuels him. By the end of it, X appears dazed.

“I’m still here.”

“…Zero, please,” X murmurs and Zero is heartbroken yet gratified to hear the uncertainty. Apathy never suited her. “After you left, we treated the Virus and yet the fighting didn’t end. It got so, _so_ hard. If I didn’t seal myself, I would have ended up worse than the copy.” She starts shaking. “I – I was ready to let everything go. I _did_ let everything go. I let you go, I let the world go, I – “

“I won’t let you go, X,” vows Zero, eyes shining with resolve. “I’ll retire before I – “

“Just,” X cuts him off with an exasperated, watery smile. “Don’t leave and don’t die. Again.”

“Understood.”

This time, X is the one who kisses him.

* * *

There’s an ease around Zero that wasn’t present before.

The Crimson Legend wears intimidation like a second armor; the reputation, the skills that back up said reputation, and the no-nonsense demeanor all packaged together into a singular fearsome entity. An entity that stood under the dominating eye of Neo Arcadia’s might and stared back with the silent promise to dismantle the empire – and nearly succeeded. Twice.

It’s an understatement to say that not only are Neo Arcadians wary of Zero, but also the members of the Resistance as well. It’s not that they don’t trust Zero – oh no, after Zero did everything for them, they can count on Zero for anything.

But even Harpuia can see that the Resistance members look at X in sheer _what the hell,_ and then they look at Zero as if he fell on his processor a thousand times. The only reason no one has thrown up a riot yet is because Ciel’s the Commander and she keeps on insisting that everything is okay. Not to mention, she’s human so the theory of hard-drive corruption doesn’t apply to her as it can on Zero.

Because Zero’s changed. Harpuia may not know Zero personally as the Resistance reploids do, but she knows his recent behavior isn’t typical.

X and Zero, whose vivid colorings automatically set them apart like dynamites in a meadow, manage to be frustratingly elusive in the first days after X presumably reactivated. After that, they take short walks within the Base grounds. Zero has made himself X’s personal bodyguard (as if Master X doesn’t already have _three_ bots whose job is to do exactly that!) – always catching her in time in case she stumbles over a step. 

But if Harpuia manages to capture a glimpse of them like now…

“Did someone hack Zero while no one was looking?” Leviathan deadpans, studying the scene below him along with his two sister units next to him.

“’Droids can’t get hacked,” says Fefnir.

“Cyber-elves can,” Harpuia corrects. “However, only the Dark Elf is powerful enough to manipulate a reploid’s cognitive processing.”

Besides Master X that is.

“Yeah yeah, pick on every wire, would ya,” Fefnir harrumphs though she doesn’t bother looking at Harpuia when she says it. Instead, she bows her head, rubbing her neck. “Scrap me, I’m not used to this,” she says bluntly.

“None of us are,” Leviathan crosses his arms. His face can’t seem to decide if it wants to be confused or repulsed.

Opening her mouth, Harpuia attempts to provide any comments of logic, understanding or wisdom that befits her title as the Sage only to draw up short.

Her shoulders drop. “Retrospectively, this explains our pull towards Zero.”

Fefnir appears to retort a denial, but then seems to think better of it. She grumbles,” It does.”

“Wow, you’re admitting it?” Leviathan drawls.

“What, you’re not?!” Fefnir snaps. “You practically flirt with Zero every time you – !“

Immediately, Leviathan’s hands fly over Fefnir’s mouth, muffling the rest of her sentence. With his head, Leviathan angrily gestures at what the three of them have been watching for the past ten minutes from their high spot from the mountainside: Master X, the true Mega Man, and Zero, the Crimson Legend and Neo Arcadia’s bane for the past two years, sitting together on top of a picnic blanket down at the docks.

At Fefnir’s outburst, Zero scowls up behind him before paying attention again to whatever X is saying.

Fefnir slaps Leviathan’s hand away from her. “Don’t bother, I’m sure they already know we’re here. We’re not Phantom.”

“Smelt me, can you imagine if Phantom was here? She’d murder Zero in his recharge and replace him,” Leviathan snaps.

Harpuia exvents through her nostrils. “If she could. Master X – “

“She told us not to call her that anymore,” Fefnir cuts in.

“- and Zero have been practically soldered together since her reactivation,” Harpuia continues as if she was never interrupted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re recharging together.”

As soon as she finishes talking, Harpuia grimaces as realization sets in.

Five days. That should be more than enough time for Harpuia to mentally adjust.

She hasn’t.

Personally, she doubts anyone else has except for Ciel who’s been practically _radiating_ every time she sees X and Zero together. At least the other Resistance members still have their bolts screwed on to side-eye the two ancient androids because their hard drives didn’t purge the past two years of insanity.

Humans.

“Oh my – ugh, someone replace my optics,” Leviathan cringes as X eats an e-crystal off Zero’s offered hand.

“Don’t be immature,” Harpuia scolds without feeling.

“Excuse you, I’m ‘freedom,’” the aquatic reploid drawls,” I’ll do whatever I want.”

“And I’m ‘protection.’ I’ll defend Mas – “ Harpuia takes extreme effort not to groan. _“X’s_ dignity.”

Leviathan scoffs. “What dignity? I don’t think she cares. Look at them. They’re all over each other.”

Right as he says it, Zero leans in to close the space between him and X, simultaneously provoking all three Guardians to look away. It’s strange, it’s clear that X and Zero want their privacy and it’s courteous to _not_ shove their antennas to that, but paradoxically, Harpuia feels like this belongs to her. It makes everything awkward.

Finally, Fefnir says, “Welp, if you two want to stand here talking rust all day, that’s your deal.” Briskly marching forward, she rolls her neck around and crunch her fists in a dramatic show liken to a human cracking their knuckles. “I still got issues with X. I’m going in there.”

With a running head start, she hops off the cliff, loudly announcing her incoming entry with the blasts of her buster to propel her further forward.

“What the – _that idiot!”_ Harpuia cries, dashing forward with wings out.

“What is with you two always running off without – ugh!” Leviathan groans behind them, activating his own thrusters.

Among the three of them, Harpuia is the fastest in the air, but she doesn’t make it in time to stop Fefnir from stomping up to X and Zero, guns blazing. She reaches out in what feels like slow-motion, watching Zero swiftly stand up with a hand up in a “Stop!” motion (but doesn’t enter a combat ready position).

The perfect picture of serenity, X waves her hand, unmoved from her comfortable seat on the ground.

“I was wondering when you’d all come out,” she says.

Like an engine sputtering out, Fefnir screeches to a full halt a meter away. Harpuia pretends to not nearly crash into her by skipping around at the last second. Leviathan is patting miniscule dust away from his shoulders when he arrives seconds later.

“…I told you they knew we were watching them,” Fefnir grumbles to the side.

“I have an unfair advantage,” X answers sheepishly as Zero plops back down on the blanket. “Even without seeing any of you, I can sense you.”

“Your proximity sensors can’t reach _that_ long,” says Fefnir though she seems doubtful.

“It’s not from sensors. It’s…energy. I’m still connected to Cyberspace to a certain degree and I can feel the threads between us. I’m sorry, I can’t describe it anyway that’s not abstract.”

“Whatever, that’s not what I came to ask anyway,” Fefnir dismisses angrily. Her fists are balled tightly by her sides. “I want to know…why did you leave us with the fake?”

Oh, thinks Harpuia.

Just two days ago when it was acceptable to start talking to X again, Harpuia asked Neo Arcadia’s founder every other question: who was X’s creator? What was the world like before the twenty-third century? Why was Harpuia created? To each inquiry, X answered so fully that it led to longer, deeper conversations, which all ended up winding her to early exhaustion.

To X’s defense, she was also barraged with answering questions for other bots and she made a valiant effort to delay recharge until Zero shoved her into a tube.

It’s not that Fefnir’s question never once drifted in Harpuia’s mind. She’s not _afraid_ of the potential answer either.

She’s…concerned.

Calmly, X pats down on the blanket while meeting the gazes of her direct progenies in the unspoken recommendation to join her. While already close, Zero scoots even closer to X under the slick guise to make more space for the Guardians to sit, practically hugging her from the side without actually hugging her. It’s supremely annoying – or it should be, Zero hogging their Robot Master like that, except Harpuia’s core is stuffed with this bizarre warm emotion that she’s not sure belongs to her. It’s what stays her sharp tongue most of the time nowadays especially regarding the crimson terrorist.

“Knowing you, they’d want it straightforward,” provides Zero.

“…It wouldn’t be fair otherwise,” X agrees.

Finally, Harpuia sits with her legs tucked beneath her, hands folded on her lap. Following her, Fefnir transitions into a cross-legged pose mid-drop and Leviathan swirls down with his legs stretched nonchalantly wide before him, hands behind him as support.

With three pairs of younger eyes honing on her, X glances around and beams like the sun.

“Look at us, Zero,” X says quietly yet no less effusively. “Look at us.”

Then suddenly, Harpuia isn’t afraid what X would say.

Because while the suggestion isn’t aimed at Harpuia, the green robot glances around her all the same and the birds-eye perspective of the moment strikes her. Harpuia and her sibling units gathered on the ground of a scrappy dock of an old, stubborn harbor which name is lost to time, the sky and the ocean and the rest of the world around them. The sheer opposite of the grand and imposing court back in Neo Arcadia’s capital where Copy X sat on the throne and everyone was literally below her.

Like this, they look like a…

_Family._

“Before I start, I want to make this clear,” X begins. “I have left you all before, but this time I won't. Never again.”

And Harpuia believes her.


End file.
